The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a delightful treat

Thanksgiving is over and it’s time to start putting up the lights and the tree and getting ready for the Christmas holidays. Marvel Studios is ringing in the holidays this year with something a bit different: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. This is the second of Marvel’s Special Presentations, the first being the Halloween special Werewolf by Night. They’re proving a wonderful addition to the studio’s ever-expanding slate.

There will be some SPOILERS in this review, so if you haven’t seen the Guardians special go do that first and then come back!

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special review

Picking up sometime after the Guardians’ last appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is exactly what it sounds like: a fun, short, holiday-themed romp with everyone’s favorite crew of Marvel misfits.

In an effort to help the people of the galaxy, the Guardians have purchased the Knowhere trading hub from the Collector. We start with them rebuilding it and reassuring its populace. Right out of the gate it’s clear this will be a blast as a band of aliens sings a catchy song with the refrain “I don’t know what Christmas is / but Christmas time is here.”

The setup is simple: concerned that Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) former foster dad Yandu (Michael Rooker) ruined Christmas for him, Mantis (Pom Klementieff) decides she wants to bring back the spirit of the holidays. Mantis is Quill’s sister, but has never revealed that to him, fearing that he would associate her with their father Ego and be reminded of painful memories at the sight of her. But she still cares about him, and thus resolves to make this the best Christmas of his life. Enlisting Drax’s help, she goes about this by kidnapping Kevin Bacon, whom Quill has loved since seeing him in Footloose.

At a lean 45-minute runtime, the Guardians Holiday Special is shorter than some episodes of regular Marvel television. It works this to its advantage. Drax and Mantis have typically filled supporting roles in Guardians movies, but for the holiday special they step to the forefront. They wander LA in search of Bacon’s house before finding someone selling city maps of stars’ homes. They break in, which is as ridiculous as you’d hope. Drax and Mantis each become attached to certain of Bacon’s lawn ornaments which they are then forced to jettison in the name of saving Christmas.

It’s just fun, and it seems like all the actors are having a blast, especially later in the special when Mantis and Drax discover that Kevin Bacon is, in fact, an actor and lament how disgusting that profession is. It all leads to a Christmas celebration on Knowhere where the Guardians throw Peter a surprise party. Peter is understandably upset that his friends have kidnapped a person to give to him as a present, but after Mantis releases Kevin Bacon from her mind control, the actor eventually comes around and decides to stay in the name of the holidays. Once Bacon is no longer a hostage but a willing participant in the good times (even singing a song with the alien band), everyone finally lets loose and the good times roll.

With the party a success and Quill moved by Mantis’ efforts, the truth finally comes out that she’s his sister. Peter gives her a huge hug and claims it’s the best gift she could have given him. D’aaaw.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special doesn’t feel exceptionally substantial, but that’s not really the point. If Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the capstone to Marvel’s Phase 4, a phase which has been all about grieving and moving on after the events of the Infinity Saga, then The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is the party at the end that reminds us there can still be joy and fun. It’s easy to imagine it becoming a holiday mainstay for Marvel fans.

Bullet Points of the Galaxy: Holiday Edition

• The holiday special also serves as the formal introduction for Cosmo the Dog, voiced by Maria Bakalova. Cosmo has appeared in previous Guardians movies, but now she’s an official part of the crew and will be featuring in Vol. 3 next year.
• The gift-giving at the end of the movie is great. Rocket finally got Bucky Barnes’ robot arm, which he has coveted since Avengers: Infinity War. Groot got a new (old) Game Boy. Drax got the blow-up elf he had given up earlier in the special. It’s cute, and it’s perfect.
• The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special also features some animated sections! They’re a great touch that hearkens back to the Star Wars Christmas Special, something writer/director James Gunn cited as an influence. They also reveal that Yandu’s dashboard troll obsession started with a Christmas gift from Peter, and that Peter’s trademark pair of guns were a Christmas gift from Yandu. Too many good feels!

Verdict

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a wonderful treat that’s just right for the season. It’s short, it’s fun, and it’s filled with a ton of jokes that land perfectly. The Guardians have appeared in a number of MCU projects at this point, but there’s just something special about it when James Gunn is behind the camera.

Special Grade: A

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